The dismissal of Air Force Chief of Staff General Sergei Surovikin was finally verified by official Russian media on Wednesday, after many weeks of rumors to that effect. Surovikin had served as a commander of Russian troops in Ukraine in the past, and he had ties to the head of a brief armed rebellion there.
Surovikin has not been seen in combat since June 23 and 24, when Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of the Wagner mercenary group, gave the order for his forces to push on Moscow. Since then, Surovikin has been presumed dead. A video that was shown during the uprising showed Surovikin pleading with Prigozhin to bring back the mercenaries. It was alleged that Surovikin was in frequent communication with Prigozhin.
There were allegations circulating that Surovikin was informed of the Wagner insurrection, which is now the largest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule after 23 years. Prigozhin said that he wanted to avoid the spilling of any blood, therefore he put a stop to the revolt before it could reach Moscow.
Since the beginning of the uprising, one of the many questions that has been left unanswered is what happened to Surovikin. Some people in the Russian media have speculated that Surovikin is now doing time in prison during his absence; however, towards the end of June, Surovikin’s daughter said unequivocally on the Russian social media station Baza that her father is not behind bars.
Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, who now serves as the head of the senior staff of the air force, is said to have taken over for Surovikin as the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, according to an unnamed source that was cited by the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
When the agency does represent the official stance of the Kremlin, it does so in many situations by citing anonymous officials from Russia’s military and security apparatus in its publications. This is done in many of the agency’s publications.
Neither the Russian government nor the Associated Press were able to corroborate the report using their own independent resources.
According to the RBC, a Russian daily newspaper, Surovikin has apparently been transferred to a different role and is now on vacation. This information was obtained from Surovikin.
Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of a politician with links to Putin, and Alexei Venediktov, the former head of the defunct radio station Ekho Moskvy, both claimed on social media on Tuesday that Surovikin had been sacked. Ksenia Sobchak was the first to make the announcement. Alexei Venediktov was the second.
Sobchak is quoted as saying that Surovikin was let go on August 18 by “a closed decree.” There has been a considerable amount of time since he was last mentioned by anybody in the family.
Between the months of October 2022 and January 2023, Surovikin was in charge of Russian operations in Ukraine. As a result of his brutal military attack in Syria, Surovikin earned the moniker “General Armageddon.” Regular missile barrages were conducted by Russian soldiers under his supervision, inflicting considerable damage to civilian infrastructure and cutting off civilians’ access to basics including as heat, electricity, and water. He is accused of being complicit in these attacks.
Since 2015, Russian military forces have been engaged in combat in Syria in an effort to back the administration of President Bashar Assad. Prigozhin and Surovikin were both participants in this battle in some capacity.
After Russia’s withdrawal from the southern city of Kherson in the face of a swift counteroffensive by Kyiv’s army, Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov replaced Surovikin as commander in Ukraine. However, the air force general continued to serve under Gerasimov in the capacity of deputy commander.
Prigozhin had lauded Surovikin and lobbied for his selection as the future chief of the General Staff in place of Gerasimov, despite the fact that he had criticized the leadership of the Russian military.
Prigozhin, who seems to still be in charge of the mercenary unit that won a major battle to seize the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut earlier this year, in spite of the rumors that are circulating about actions to be taken against Surovikin. According to Prigozhin, the incompetent administration of the crisis in Ukraine by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other military leaders was the impetus for him to begin the rebellion. This accusation was made by Prigozhin.
Immediately after the uprising, Vladimir Putin had a three-hour meeting with the leaders of the Prigozhin and Wagner groups, during which he seemed to have the purpose of persuading them to seek exile in Belarus. This Monday, Prigozhin published his first video message since the mutiny. In the clip, he said that he was searching for “bogatyrs” (men who are strong and powerful) to work for Wagner in Africa. The last time Prigozhin was seen was in July, when he attended a summit between Russia and Africa in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia.